Bender
This bending system prioritizes creativity and versatility over ease of use. It requires additional dice rolls to adjudicate, but allows benders to combine bending seeds to create a wider range of options. Benders learn bending seeds at the rate shown on their respective bending table and may choose them from any seeds on their bending list. Creating Forms The bending arts are based around fully understanding the possibilities and applications of their respective elements. As such, creative use of the element is important to the application of the art. Using a single seed is often very useful or powerful in its own right, and can continue to be so at later levels by advancing the seed’s effects. However, in situations when two of the bender’s known seeds are compatible with each other, they can be executed simultaneously or in conjunction with the bender’s other abilities, creating a bending form. Doing so uses the bending time of the longest seed and uses the seeds’ combined Bending DCs +4. For example, a waterbender could combine her blast with some thrown Ice Shards, dealing her blast damage +2d4 (or more, if the Waterbending check allows for additional damage) as a standard action. The Waterbending DC for this would be 19 (5 for Blast,+10 for the Ice Shards, and +4 for combining them). It should be stressed that players and DM's are intended to cooperate to determine what combinations of bending seeds are appropriate in a given game. The Bending Skill Almost all of a bender’s special abilities are determined by her modifier in the respective bending skill. This is a skill exclusive to each of the bending classes and its dependent skill is Wisdom. Having at least 5 ranks in Knowledge (Bending) grants a +2 synergy bonus to the bending skill, and vice versa. Note that due to the complicated motions dealing with bending an element, armor check penalties apply to the skill. Bending Range The distance from which a bender can draw or extend any of her forms is 40 ft + 5 ft/level. Going further is possible, but every 5 feet beyond this range adds a +1 to the Bending DC of the seed. A form that begins within this ‘safe’ range but extends beyond it can fall short, and any element being used simply falls from the bender’s control, acting naturally (water being absorbed into the ground, earth rolling downhill, etc.). If the form’s DC reaches the bender’s roll without completely finishing its course, it dissipates at that point and acts naturally. Using Forms Executing a form provokes attacks of opportunity unless noted otherwise, and if the bender is damaged while executing a form, she must make a Concentration check against the damage done or lose the form. Bending forms cannot be used while pinned, but a bender can attempt to use a form while grappling by adding +10 to the Bending DC, and must make a DC 20 Concentration check in order to successfully use the ability. For more uses of the Concentration skill in Bending, look here. A bender's hands must be free in order to use any bending form, unless noted otherwise; though weapons and items made from materials a bender can manipulate can be spontaneously converted to use in forms. Template Forms Template forms can be applied to other bending forms (hereafter referred to as the "base form"), altering their characteristics and increasing a bender's versatility. Template forms increase the Bending DC of the base form. Taking 10 Benders may choose to take 10 on any bending check, unless rushed or threatened. For the purposes of this, combat does not count as being rushed, though an opponent threatening a bender in combat does prevent her from taking 10 on bending checks. Contested Bending If two benders are vying for control of a single mass of their element, they make opposed bending checks as a move action. In order to gain control of the element, a bender must beat her opponent's bending check by 5 or more, though winning by 4 or less adds a +2 circumstance bonus to the next opposed check, until one gains uncontested control of the element. If a bender wishes to take control of an element already controlled by another bender (such as a waterbender's Water Whip seed or an earthbender's Armor seed) she takes -5 to the bending check. Bending on the Defensive Bending while on the defensive does not provoke an attack of opportunity. It does, however, require a Concentration check (DC 15 + 2 for every 5 of the bending DC) to pull off. Failure means that you still successfully complete the form (provided you are able to make the Bendig DC), but provoke an attack of opportunity for doing so. Motion Unless stated otherwise, all bending seeds have somatic components and are difficult to use with restricted mobility. A bender takes -10 to the Bending check to do a form while prone unless otherwise noted. Saves Any saves in response to a bending form have a DC 10 + half the bender’s class level + the bender’s Wisdom modifier. Bending Blasts and Iterative Attacks All benders have the ability to project bending Blasts as a basic ranged attack. Descriptions of the various Blast abilities can be found in the individual class write-ups. In general, a bender can make a number of Blast attacks per round equal to the number of iterative attacks she can make, as determined by her Base Attack Bonus. As a general rule, benders cannot increase the number of Blast attacks they can make by taking feats or gaining class abilities. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule. A Firebender's Firestorm ability allows him to make a single additional Fire Blast attack as part of a full round attack. Additionally, a bender can take the Rapid Shot feat, increasing the number of Blast attacks she can make in a full round attack. A Firebender with both Firestorm and Rapid Shot can make two extra Fire Blast attacks in a full round attack. Fatigue A fatigued bender takes a -4 to all bending checks, in addition to the other effects of fatigue, and an exhausted bender takes an addition -4 to all checks, for a total of -8. Overbending Upon failing a bending check, a bender has a choice to go ahead and do the action for which she rolled anyway. This is known as overbending and can range from strenuous to lethal, depending on the scope of what the bender is trying to do, as shown on the table below. All effects stack, except for the various levels of Constitution damage, though the Constitution drain does apply at the same time. Failed By Effect 1-5 Fatigue 6-9 1d4 Con Damage 10-14 2d4 Con Damage 15-19 3d4 Con Damage, Exhaustion 20-24 4d4 Con Damage 25-30 Unconsciousness, 1 point of Con Drain 31+ Death. A bender rendered unconscious as a result of overbending makes a DC 20 Will save to wake up after four hours, and every hour thereafter, with the save DC decreasing by -2 at each attempt. After eight hours, the bender automatically wakes up, but is still fatigued. It takes additional rest to remove this condition. Quickened Bending Powerful benders learn techniques intended to improve their economy of motion and allowthem to bend more quickly. By increasing the Bending skill DC of a seed by +10, a bender can perform a seed that normally requires a full-round action as a standard action. By increasing the Bending skill DC of a seed by +20, a Bender can perform a seed that normally requires a standard action as a move action. Unless otherwise stated in theseed's description, no seed can be performed as a swift, free, or immediate action. Category:Jutsu Category:Majutsu Category:Gensomagejutsu